Residents looking to be reimbursed for damage caused by potholes, sewer back-ups and more are routinely being denied compensation without consideration, the city's ombudsman says.
In a report released Wednesday, Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean found that more than 90 per cent of damage claims filed to the city are denied, often without proper investigation.
"We found a practice of denying claims outright without consideration, without looking at relevant evidence," Crean told reporters Wednesday.
In many cases, the report found that claimants were issued letters declaring there had been an investigation completed when there wasn't.
Responses from officials — if any — were scarce and sometimes took over a year to receive, according to the report.
"The delays revealed in this investigation were quite astonishing," said Crean. "Six, nine, 12, 14 months with no contact with the resident. In fact, sometimes there was no contact at all."
The most commonly-denied claims typically were related to pothole damage, the report found.
City insurance adjuster McLarens routinely denies pothole claims, asserting that road maintenance has met minimum standards, said Crean.
The company is paid a flat rate of $195 to handle each claim.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Rob Ford thanked Crean and her staff for "shining a spotlight on this serious issue."
"When I served as a councillor, I had many residents calling me to complain about the third-party liability claims process," Ford said.
A series of recommendations were put forward by the ombudsman to Toronto City Manager Joe Pennachetti.
One of the proposals includes having the city establish a "service standard" by Jan. 31, 2012.
Ford said the recommendations are "already accepted."
The report will be discussed further at the Oct. 24-25 city council meeting.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Zuraidah Alman
